Jen

Ok.., here's the deal:

I have(2)free airline tix and I can fly in/out of any of the following cities: Charlotte, NC -- Washington DC (Reagan) -- Newark, NJ -- Philadelphia (PA) -- NY (LGA) and Boston, MA...

My husband and I (we are in our early 50s)have never been to the East coast. We love scenery and roadtrips. We have planned a "short" getaway over Columbus Day weekend (10/10-10/13).

Any roatrip/itinerary recommendations based on the destinations I've mentioned? We seem to have a few options (Ex: Fly into Philly and drive to Atlantic City and then up NJ coast and fly home via Newark...) We're flexible, just don't have too much time.

Thank you for reading...

Robin

Recommendation #1: please avoid Atlantic City. Trust me on this one, it'd be a complete waste of your time. It's dirty, unsafe and the casinos are very mediocre at best compared to Las Vegas. There's nothing to the area except the immediate casino/boardwalk area and even that's not very pretty.

Best options: use DC and Charlotte as termini for a driving trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of America's most scenic drives and (almost) perfect time of year to go.

Use Boston and LGA/EWR for a trip thru western CT and or Rhode Island (Newport, Providence), a quick taste of Cape Cod, maybe even Boston if you drive quickly.

I think these are the two best driving trips you could construct.
Of course you could very easily ebtertain yourselves for many days in any of the cities you mention (except Charlotte, which is pretty dull).
But if you want to drive and see some beautiful scenery, the two trips above are tops IMO.
Have fun!

Mary

I agree with the previous responder - don't waste your time on Atlantic City; it's gross (and I like gambling as much as the next person.) If it were me, I would probably just hit one of the cities (Boston, NY or DC, my favorite), but given your preferences, I would fly in and out of Boston and head up to VT for foliage. The leaves down here (I'm in MA) haven't really changed much yet, so you'd have to go north. VT is lovely, though. In fact, I think we're going to go up there also for the long weekend, and camp out.

OliveOyl

If it were my dilema, I'd fly into Boston then drive up the coast of Maine, at least as far as Boothbay Harbor. The Maine coast is stunningly beautiful, quintessential New England, and you stand a better chance of finding occupancy than you do in VT or western MA (Berkshires), both of which will most likely have been sold out ages ago as that is prime time for foliage viewing.

cities

I have to agree with previous posts. AVOID A.C. Don't even go there. A total waste of your time. You have many options but so little time. It seems exploring is your main interest so not sure if flying into EWR and visiting N.Y. City is what you want, but it is an obvious option. Plenty to do an see. You will be arriving around the peak time for the fall foilage. Another thought, is to fly into PHL and visit Bucks County. Many antique shops, quaint small towns, such as New Hope, Lambertville, Lahaska, Peddlers Village. About 40 minutes driving time from PHL. All will be busy with fall acitivities. Very scenic. OR fly into EWR and head on up to the Catskills, Hudson Valley. Enjoy.